Diversity
at Latin
"We need not turn Latin into a radical experiment to satisfy our social
consciences, but we should ask ourselves the difficult questions of what we
owe to all the children of this city, and what kinds of growing experiences we
want for our children."
– Jonathan Slater to the Parents Council in 1982
There was a time in the not-so-distant past
when diversity was a foreign concept at Latin.
Students came from a few neighborhoods
and were mostly from similar backgrounds.
In pre-Civil Rights Act America, that did not
make Latin stand apart from most schools in
the country. Residential patterns of religious,
ethnic, economic class and racial segregation
in this country, including Chicago, meant
that people were likely to play, worship and
go to school with people who were much like
them – at least superficially.
100 L AT I N M AGAZINE
But times have changed, and so has
our school. While residential patterns of
segregation in Chicago have lessened only
moderately, Latin has committed itself to a
philosophy and mission that redefines the
"neighborhood." Enrolling students from
all over the city – more than 66 Chicago
neighborhoods – Latin continues to strive to
be a diverse and inclusive school community.
One obvious result of this commitment can
be seen first thing each school day morning.
Whereas Latin students used to walk to
Carole Towne (row 4, third from right) and Eric Louie (row 3, third from left), the
first Asian-American students at Latin, with their first grade classmates.
